When October comes around this year, one of two things will happen, first the Braves will be sitting at home watching the playoffs, or two they will be giving Bobby Cox the best send off as a manager that they can with a World Series win.
This may sound like a harsh statement to make, but the fact of the matter is that the braves are just in no shape to really make the final year of Bobby Cox one that he will want to remember. This is a shame, considering that at one time the team was known as America’s team, sorry Braves, you have been replaced by the Yankees. This is one of the more interesting aspects of the Braves team.
The first item is the lack of a pitching rotation that is capable of making huge plays on the mound, these issues will be part of what leads the team to look at one of the hardest seasons that they have had in a long time.
This lack of leadership will lead to the team not having a starter that can hand off to a closer and rely on them to close the game out. There will be a lot of innings this season that will end with the Braves losing due to a bad pitching game from the mound. Unless something is changed quickly, there will be yet another long season to endure in Atlanta this season.
When it comes to evaluating the outfield, there is not a lot better news on that front as well. The reason for this is due to the fact that there will be a hole that has yet to be filled for an effective player in the outfield position. This in turn will result in the team not being able to make the most out of their opportunities when they are given them. Many teams may suffer from a gap in a certain position, the Braves suffer from a massive hole that will have to be fixed before the team can move forward effectively. Let’s face it, no great outfield play, then the whole thing will be in trouble of falling apart.
Once the other team hits the ball, it is time for the Braves to field it, this is again not a strong area, but it is a lot better than the previous two that were mentioned. There is a little bit of work that will be needed when it comes to getting the best plays out of the team in the outfield. This will help to eliminate runners getting extra bases due to bad playing.
This is the final year for Bobby Cox to coach the Braves, this will either be one of the best years that he has had in the past several years, or it will be a year that many people will be ashamed to even watch on the television. These players as well as the fans are hoping that the final Bobby Cox season will be one that everyone can be proud of. While these hopes are high, it appears that this will be more of the same for the Braves.
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